


Into the Darkness

by Urby



Series: Melodies of Life [13]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22142710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urby/pseuds/Urby
Summary: Corrin has tried to keep himself from becoming a dragon for too long. Azurrin Week "2019", Day 3: Soothe/Rage
Relationships: Aqua | Azura/My Unit | Kamui | Corrin
Series: Melodies of Life [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/718761
Kudos: 20





	Into the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> There is supposed to be a fic before this where Corrin admits to restraining his dragon because he thinks it will only cause pain and destruction, and suffering because of it, and another fic about Azura choosing to let him destroy what is left of Old Valla, but I have yet to write them! help im on a plane have this without the prior context

Sheltering the newest wave of refugees, along with coordinating volunteers and hired help in New Valla took a lot of time and effort. So much so, Azura began coveting any scrap of time she could have to herself. And yet, when she heard a knock on her door late at night, she knew it to be Corrin, and she knew she wanted to spend time with him more than she wanted to be alone.

"I'm so glad you're still awake," Corrin said.

"I need to settle down before I can sleep," Azura said, resting her head against the doorframe.

He was too tired to wear his usual cheerful demeanor - he looked honestly, completely, and utterly haggard. "Can I stay with you tonight?" he asked, as if she would refuse him.

She stepped aside, and when he didn't move, she tugged on his arm gently, pulling him into the room. "Let's get you more comfortable," she said gently.

"Thank you, Azura," he said, in a voice so breathy she almost imagined it.

The curve of his back concerned her when he sat, but she didn't mention it. Instead, she guided him to lie down and joined him on the bed.

"Can you sing to me?" he asked. "Something to help me sleep?"

Azura didn't waste time saying she would. Instead, she sang his favorite lullabies, the ones she knew would calm him. His eyes drifted shut.

Her hands wandered into his hair, moved steadily through the strands. It was normally soft and fluffy, but it was streaky to her touch, as if he'd woken up in a sweat.

"The bad thoughts keep coming. They're getting worse," he said between songs.

She let the notes trail off and hugged him so his face rested against her chest. "Do you want to talk about them?"

"Nnnnnnnnooh..." he almost growled the word. "I just want them gone."

Azura petted him for a moment longer, then stilled her hand. "You have to do something."

She felt him frown against her nightshirt.

"Is the dragon a part of you or not?" she asked.

"Hm? Yes," Corrin said, sounding a bit surprised by the question.

"Then, you should take care of yourself. You wouldn't ignore your stomach when you're hungry, or your body when you need a bath. This is another drive that needs caring for."

"But it would mean so much harm to care for this...drive," Corrin said. "If it just affected me, I wouldn't hesitate so much..."

"You would hurt yourself?"

"If it meant I could spare others --"

Azura stopped him by hugging him tight.

"I think I have a solution," she said into his hair.

"I would try almost anything," he said.

She guided him to stand, then led him to the nearest pool of water...

* * *

Valla was as forlorn as ever. Corrin looked about almost disbelievingly as he walked, with Azura following close behind.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

If only he knew how much she had grappled with that very same question. She tried not to let her frustration show in her voice when she said, "This is where I was born, and I have chosen what I want to do with it. I want to give you the opportunity to express your need for destruction."

The pain on his face only deepened.

"Do you think it is enough?" she asked before he could refuse the offer.

He swallowed. After a long moment, he said, "I hope it is. I have to try."

Corrin hunched over as he called out the dragon within. And yet, what happened was not anything Azura had ever remembered happening to him when he transformed. Ribbon-like scales flew about as if flayed off his skin. His limbs bent and snapped in odd, uncoordinated ways, showing what looked like fangs running up his arms. She ran towards him, not knowing what she could do but desperate to try _anything_ \--

He stopped her with a roar, one filled with pain and concern, not for himself but for her. His face slicked over with an inky blackness, though his eyes shone wild and red underneath long after his draconic visage had taken over. The sounds she heard - she had never known his transformation to make noise, but...this was horrible, like the crunching of bones between wyvern jaws. The dragon wobbled, partly formed, desperate to move but unable to support his own body. He collapsed, screaming in a human voice as wings curled out of his back and his chest barreled out to support them.

Her eyes hurt, especially at the corners, and she rushed to his head despite his warnings. She stroked his head, laying her face on the stone-cold plate, and poured all of her energy into wishing his pain away, into giving him any comfort she could.

When he finally stood, his form was pristine, which almost frightened her more than if he had shown signs of his torturous transformation.

 _I am sorry you had to see that_ , he said, his psychic voice whisper-quiet.

She shook her head, her throat raw from the crying she had done.

He turned away from her and slashed the ground experimentally. Apparently unsatisfied, he walked over to a fallen pillar and pushed it. That didn't help either, so he backed up a few paces and rammed it with his antlers. It scattered into pieces and powder. A hum of animal interest came out of the dragon, and he trotted towards other pieces of destructible scenery.

"Good, good," Azura said under her breath, following him with light steps.

Corrin rammed into rocks and walls, slowly building up to using his body to slam things down and his claws to slash things to bits. The speed with which he did so also mounted, to the point where she had to run to keep up, and only then just barely.

He seemed...happy? Like he was playing, perhaps. He rammed his head into the ground, plowing the ground with his antlers and scooted about. And yet, she could tell his movements were getting more random, stuttering even. It looked like the time, moments earlier, when his limbs hadn't the strength to hold him up...

"Careful --!" she yelled, since he was going for the edge of a steep drop. He startled and whipped his body straight into a wall.

"Corrin!"

He was too tired to avoid it. The wall wobbled before collapsing on top of him in a crash of dust and rubble. Azura picked her way towards him, shielding her mouth with her arms and cursing herself for spooking him into hurting himself.

Corrin lay still and sprawled on the ground. His limbs seemed...loose, the scales dull and askew. The normally shining antlers were visibly damaged. His body jerked when she touched him, by reflex rather than fear. He managed a grunt of acknowledgement, unable to muster the strength to do much else. She noted with a heavy heart that even his ears, normally twirling about with abandon, lay still on the earth.

"My sweet prince..."

She laid a few fingers, feather-light, against his arm. She waited for a reaction - a rumble, a twitch, anything - and when she couldn't find one, she had to swallow down tears.

"Corrin, sweet Corrin..."

Azura's own misery was impatient for company, but she fought the urge to throw herself on him and break down as well. Instead, she moved towards his head, keeping her hand on him at all times so he could tell she was moving. Then, she held the cracked, splintered antlers and laid her lips against them.

Her mind raced. _Please, please feel better, and soon...I don't want you to live with pain like this...someone like you doesn't deserve this pain...not like..._

She quieted that train of thought by kissing the broken dragon beneath her.

_Azura..._

She kissed him again, not trusting herself to speak without crying just then.

_Please stay with me awhile...until I feel better..._

"I will stay as long as you want me."

He rumbled, the sound tired and strained, but she could imagine it was a purr.


End file.
